Vapor chamber and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing a vapor chamber includes steps of: attaching a first edge of a first metal cover plate to a second edge of a second metal cover plate; placing the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate on a die after attachment; and using a punch head to punch the first edge and the second edge in a direction toward the die so as to seal the first edge and the second edge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a vapor chamber and a method of manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to a method for sealing edges of two metal cover plates of a vapor chamber by a punch process.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In a vapor chamber, a working fluid is filled in a sealed chamber. The working fluid can be evaporated and condensed in cycles such that heat can be conducted by the vapor chamber uniformly and rapidly. In general, the vapor chamber essentially consists of metal casing, capillary structure and working fluid and is manufactured by an annealing process, a vacuumizing process, a soldering and sealing process, and so on. However, compared with a heat pipe, the conventional vapor chamber is more expensive due to high manufacture cost resulted from the soldering and sealing process. Therefore, how to reduce the manufacture cost resulted from the soldering and sealing process becomes a significant issue while designing the vapor chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a vapor chamber and a method for sealing edges of two metal cover plates of the vapor chamber by a punch process, so as to solve the aforesaid problems.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a method of manufacturing a vapor chamber comprises steps of attaching a first edge of a first metal cover plate to a second edge of a second metal cover plate; placing the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate on a die after attachment; and using a punch head to punch the first edge and the second edge in a direction toward the die so as to seal the first edge and the second edge.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a vapor chamber comprises a first metal cover plate, a second metal cover plate, a capillary structure and a working fluid. A first edge of the first metal cover plate and a second edge of the second metal cover plate are sealed by the aforesaid method through a punch process. The capillary structure is formed between the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate. The working fluid is filled in between the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate.

As mentioned in the above, the invention uses the punch process to seal the edges of two metal cover plates of the vapor chamber. The process of the invention is simple and the efficiency of manufacturing the vapor chamber can be improved effectively so that the manufacture cost can be reduced.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a vapor chamber according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vapor chamber before a punch process.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the vapor chamber after the punch process.

FIG. 4 is a microscopic diagram illustrating the first edge and the second edge of the vapor chamber after the punch process.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vapor chamber after the punch process according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vapor chamber before the punch process according to a third embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a vapor chamber according to a first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vapor chamber 1 before a punch process, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the vapor chamber 1 after the punch process, and FIG. 4 is a microscopic diagram illustrating the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 of the vapor chamber 1 after the punch process.

First of all, step S10 is performed to form a capillary structure 14 between a first metal cover plate 10 and a second metal cover plate 12, wherein the capillary structure 14 may be a groove-type capillary structure, a porous capillary structure, a mesh capillary structure, a sintered capillary structure or a compound capillary structure according to practical applications. It should be noted that the aforesaid compound capillary structure may consist of at least two capillary structures selected from the groove-type capillary structure, the porous capillary structure, the mesh capillary structure and the sintered capillary structure. Afterward, step S12 is performed to attach a first edge 100 of the first metal cover plate 10 to a second edge 120 of the second metal cover plate 12 and dispose a plurality of support members 16 between the first metal cover plate 10 and the second metal cover plate 12 so as to support the first metal cover plate 10 and the second metal cover plate 12. Accordingly, the support members 16 can prevent the first metal cover plate 10 and the second metal cover plate 12 from caving in or bulging out.

Step S14 is then performed to place the first metal cover plate 10 and the second metal cover plate 12 on a die 30 after attachment. Step S16 is then performed to use a punch head 32 to punch the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 in a direction toward the die 30 (as the direction indicated by an arrow A of FIG. 3) so as to seal the first edge 100 and the second edge 120. In this embodiment, the first metal cover plate 10 and the second metal cover plate 12 may be made of, but not limited to, copper, aluminum or other metal with low hardness. After punching the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 by an appropriate force, the metal grain boundaries of the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 will crack and then recombine so that the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 are sealed together, as shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the invention can seal the periphery of the vapor chamber 1 rapidly and effectively by the punch process, so as to reduce the manufacture cost. It should be noted that since the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 are sealed by the punch process, there is no any solder, glue or other additional materials remained between the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 and there is no soldering mark formed between the first edge 100 and the second edge 120, as shown in FIG. 4.

Step S18 is then performed to fill a working fluid 18 (e.g. water) in between the first metal cover plate 10 and the second metal cover plate 12. Finally, step S20 is performed to vacuumize the chamber between the first metal cover plate 10 and the second metal cover plate 12 so as to complete the vapor chamber 1 shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vapor chamber 1, which is manufactured by the aforesaid steps, comprises the aforesaid first metal cover plate 10, second metal cover plate 12, capillary structure 14, support members 16 and working fluid 18. In this embodiment, the punch head 32 may cut a material 34 form an end of the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 while it punches the first edge 100 and the second edge 120, so as to flat and smooth the sealed outer surface of the first edge 100 and the second edge 120.

Referring to FIG. 5 along with FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vapor chamber 1′ after the punch process according to a second embodiment of the invention. The differences between the vapor chamber 1′ and the aforesaid vapor chamber 1 are that the vapor chamber 1′ further comprises a fastener 20 for clamping the first edge 100 and the second edge 120, which have been sealed, so as to enhance sealing effect. It should be noted that the same elements in FIG. 5 and FIG. 3 are represented by the same numerals, so the repeated explanation will not be depicted herein again.

Referring to FIG. 6 along with FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vapor chamber 1″ before the punch process according to a third embodiment of the invention. The differences between the vapor chamber 1″ and the aforesaid vapor chamber 1 are that the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 of the vapor chamber 1″ have rough surface structures 102 and 122, respectively, before being punched. When the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 of the vapor chamber 1″ are punched by the die 30 and the punch head 32 of FIG. 3, the metal grain boundaries of the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 will be destroyed by the rough surface structures 102 and 122 much more easily, so as to enhance sealing effect. In this embodiment, the rough surface structures 102 and 122 maybe, but not limited to, saw-toothed shapes. Furthermore, the invention may form the rough surface structure 102 on the first edge 100 only or form the rough surface structure 122 on the second edge 120 only. In other words, at least one of the first edge 100 and the second edge 120 may have a rough surface structure before being punched according to practical applications. It should be noted that the same elements in FIG. 6 and FIG. 2 are represented by the same numerals, so the repeated explanation will not be depicted herein again.

As mentioned in the above, the invention uses the punch process to seal the edges of two metal cover plates of the vapor chamber. The process of the invention is simple and the efficiency of manufacturing the vapor chamber can be improved effectively so that the manufacture cost can be reduced. Furthermore, the invention may use the fastener to clamp the edges of the two metal cover plates, which have been sealed, so as to enhance sealing effect.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a vapor chamber comprising: attaching a first edge of a first metal cover plate to a second edge of a second metal cover plate; placing the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate on a die after attachment; and using a punch head to punch the first edge and the second edge in a direction toward the die so as to seal the first edge and the second edge.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: cutting a material form an end of the first edge and the second edge while the punch head punches the first edge and the second edge.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first edge and the second edge has a rough surface structure before being punched.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: using a fastener to clamp the first edge and the second edge, which have been sealed.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate are made of copper or aluminum.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming a capillary structure between the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate; disposing a plurality of support members between the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate so as to support the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate; and filling a working fluid in between the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the capillary structure is a groove-type capillary structure, a porous capillary structure, a mesh capillary structure, a sintered capillary structure or a compound capillary structure.
 8. A vapor chamber comprising: a first metal cover plate; a second metal cover plate, a first edge of the first metal cover plate and a second edge of the second metal cover plate being sealed by the method of claim 1 through a punch process; a capillary structure formed between the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate; and a working fluid filled in between the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate.
 9. The vapor chamber of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of support members disposed between the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate so as to support the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate.
 10. The vapor chamber of claim 8, further comprising a fastener for clamping the first edge and the second edge, which have been sealed.
 11. The vapor chamber of claim 8, wherein the first metal cover plate and the second metal cover plate are made of copper or aluminum.
 12. The vapor chamber of claim 8, wherein the capillary structure is a groove-type capillary structure, a porous capillary structure, a mesh capillary structure, a sintered capillary structure or a compound capillary structure. 